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LeAnn Rimes sings in 'Simlish' for The Sims 3: World Adventures, creeps out loved ones
Okay, okay, we're not 100% sure that Ms. Rimes will be creeping out her loved ones by adding her to-be-released track "You've Ruined Me" to The Sims 3's next expansion, World Adventures, but we'll call it an educated guess. Rimes headlines a list of artists found after the break, including a group named Natalie Portman's Shaved Head, who will appear in the expansion singing original songs in the game's fictional language -- "Simlish." The country/pop singer will be offering a rendition of an unreleased track said to be the lead on her upcoming album. Unfortunately, given the nature of "Simlish" (it's untranslatable), fans hoping for the chance to hear the unreleased track early when the expansion launches this November will be out of luck. Unless they're into gibberish languages, that is. %Gallery-70339%
New nonsensical music announced for The Sims 3 World Adventures
EA just announced a few details of the soundtrack for the upcoming Sims 3 expansion The Sims 3 World Adventures. In keeping with the theme, the company will include artists from around the world -- well, sort of. The confirmed artists include Canadian Nelly Furtado, German Stefanie Heinzmann, Americans Matt & Kim, and Young Punx and the previously announced Pixie Lott from the UK. In keeping with Sims tradition, those artists are all re-recording their songs in Simlish. "I think it's really cool to have a song in The Sims 3 World Adventures," Pixie Lott said. "You can go over to a radio in the game, play the Simlish version of "Mama Do," and take that radio with you anywhere you go inside the game!" Yes, you can do that. The list of currently confirmed songs is after the break -- with titles and artists in English for your convenience. %Gallery-70339%
EA stock dropped slightly following earnings report, back up
EA's stock took a near seven percent dive yesterday, following the publishing giant's latest earnings report on Tuesday, GI.biz reports. As of writing this post, the stock stands at $20.55, jumping up a little over one percent since trading began today. We're no stock analysis site, but we're fairly certain that should The Sims 3 and EA Sports Active keep kicking butt at retail – and with EA's yearly fundraiser, Madden 10, on the horizon – EA stockholders will be A-OK.
EA Q1 sales better than expected, still slow
We've been hearing recession tales of woe for months now in the video game industry. Today is no different, as EA is posting a net loss of $234 million for its financial Q1 sales year over year versus $95 million in losses during the same quarter last year. Unsurprisingly, titles like The Sims 3 and EA Sports Active -- you know, EA's best selling Wii game ever -- helped to boost sales, but overall game sales were lower "due to slowed hardware sales." Don't worry, though, as EA promises four new IPs for the holiday season (Dante's Inferno, Dragon Age: Origins, Brütal Legend and, presumably, Saboteur) and predicts increased revenue with tiny little titles like The Beatles: Rock Band and Madden 10 landing in the next few months. (We were so worried.)
The Sims 3 getting its first of many expansions this fall
As surely as the sun will rise and the moon will set, the first Sims 3 expansion is prepared to waltz into retailers on November 16th this year. The Sims 3 World Adventures will allow players to take their subjects and experiment on them in exotic locales. The expansion will grant the electronic puppets the ability to explore tombs in Egypt, romance each other in France, learn martial arts in China and search for treasure, all while making the Sims beg for the sweet release of death from the player's megalomania. The expansion comes with 1,000 SimPoint, just to get kids comfortable with the idea of asking their parents for the credit card later -- their Sim totally needs to live a happy and fulfilling life, you know. World Adventure will also make its way to iPhone in early 2010.
Re-recording music in Simlish is easier than it sounds
Though the "Simlish" language that permeates The Sims (as well as a few other Will Wright-crafted franchises) is largely improvised by the series' voice actors, the musicians that provide the games' soundtracks have a bit more work to do than that. This translation process was recently explained by UK recording artist Pixie Lott in a video diary we've posted after the break.Lott, (who is only 18, you creepy creepster) guides us through the steps required to Sim-ify her current chart-topper, "Mama Do," which sounds suspiciously like "Marmaduke" to our un-indoctrinated American ears. Man, if only!
What's 'Dr Pepper' in Simlish? You'll find out soon
EA and Dr Pepper have announced a "multimillion-dollar marketing agreement" that will add exclusive content to EA games for Dr Pepper consumers, starting with The Sims 3 and spreading to other EA titles throughout 2010."Early next year," Dr Pepper packages will include codes to unlock exclusive downloadable items in The Sims 3. The details are tentative, but the press release offers "one-of-a-kind beach party items or all the elements of a perfect fall tailgating party" as examples -- no doubt examples of downloadable items that will happen to carry the Dr Pepper logo. Though it's less likely Dr Pepper will be able to get away with branding the exclusive content in, say, a Dead Space sequel.
Sims 3 has best EA PC launch ever
Just in case you forgot: The Sims is a huge, huge franchise. Just how huge was demonstrated last week when The Sims 3 sold 1.4 million units, making it the best PC game launch in EA's history. If you're still not convinced of the hugeness: The iPhone version of the game became the top-selling paid iPhone app, even with its $9.99 price tag, in about 18 hours.So just remember, kids: When someone tells you that PC gaming is dead, your mom's the one giving it CPR.
TUAW at E3: The Sims 3 for iPhone
The Sims 3 pretty faithfully recreates the Sims experience on Apple's handhelds, albeit in a more streamlined version. While the handheld port avoids a lot of the new complexity of the latest PC release, the core Sims experience is still here -- you can create a Sim, give it a personality and a house, and then help your little avatar live its life, from going to work to following goals and dreams to completion.To a relatively new Sims player (I've never been a huge fan of the games), the variety of things to do here is pretty impressive. There's the usual tasks around your house -- eating, cleaning, sleeping, and so on -- but as you play, your Sim comes up with new goals to lust after, and it's your job to make sure those things happen, all while trying to preserve your Sim's health and sanity. For instance, just a minute into playing, my Sim suddenly got it in his head that he wanted to "use someone else's shower" (which seems like an exceedingly creepy goal to have, actually), but instantly I started thinking about all the things I had to do to complete it: go to town, meet someone, get invited to their house, and then somehow find an opportunity to jump in the shower.
New Sims 3 trailer treks into our hearts
The Sims 3 has quite a marketing push behind it for a game expected to sell more copies in its lifetime than there are digits in Pi. The upcoming sequel to the best-selling PC title is poised to attack store shelves on June 2 and honestly, we can't wait. In this video (showing off the game's movie-making magic), our Simlish-speaking pals show off their creativity in a hilarious Star Trek parody. If you thought J.J. Abrams knew pacing, drama and action ... Maxis is going to blow the brains out of the back of your skull.
Rumor: Pirates get their scurvy hands on The Sims 3
Unconfirmed reports circulating around the net claim the upcoming life-sim, The Sims 3, has leaked online weeks before its retail release. The Electronic Arts developed title is scheduled to land on store shelves on June 2. According to SoftSailor, torrents for The Sims 3 clock in around 5GB, but have yet to be confirmed as the full, final version of the game. The Sims 3 is the long-awaited sequel to the best-selling Dollhouse simulator, announced last year. Recently (after coming under fire for extensive DRM use in Spore -- which totally didn't work anyway) Electronic Arts announced The Sims 3 would not include any online authentication, relying solely on a serial number as copy protection. Joystiq has contacted Electronic Arts for comment and puts a bounty on the heads of all pirates everywhere. We're giving away cookies. [Via GamePolitics]
The Sims 3 lets players make their own movies
embed allowscriptaccess="never" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.viddler.com/simple/92909cdd/" width="580" allowfullscreen="true" name="viddler_92909cdd"> If locking your Sims in doorless rooms with little more company than a hot stove just doesn't seem like enough content for a game, then know that EA is upping the ante in The Sims 3. Instead of subjecting your Sims to your cruel whims just for the fun of it, you can now turn your dastardly behavior into actual machinima, courtesy of an included movie tool set.
The Sims 3 marketing is impossible to miss
If there is a green diamond overhead, chances are your eyeballs have just been made victim of Electronic Arts' latest media blitz. EA's marketing team has apparently been working overtime, papering city skylines with posters, banners and billboards hyping The Sims 3, which is expected to devour gamer free time with vampiric tenacity in June. Clearly delicacy is a lost art, though with profits in freefall, subtlety may be a luxury the mega-publisher simply can't afford.[Via Kotaku & The Simmers Club]
GDC09: Upcoming EA iPhone game list fully revealed, screens and info on Tiger
Just before the deluge of GDC 2009 news started this week, Travis Boatman, VP of worldwide studios at EA Mobile, confirmed the upcoming release of a veritable smörgåsbord of EA franchises coming to the iPhone. Today, we have confirmation from Meghan Rathman (representing EA) of the exact titles on the way to the iPhone/iTouch as well as a handful of screens from Tiger Woods PGA Tour. Unfortunately, according to Ms. Rathman, the rest of the games in development are "still too early" and don't have screens. Considering the turnaround time on iPhone/iTouch games though, we're willing to bet you'll see those shots by the end of the week pretty soon!The full list of games we received from EA is as follows: Tiger Woods PGA Tour, The Sims 3, FIFA, Madden NFL Football, Spore Creatures, Mystery Mania, Wolfenstein RPG, American Idol, Connect Four, Battleship, Need for Speed, RISK, Monopoly and Clue. Differing from reports at the GDC Mobile event earlier this week, we're seeing the addition of The Sims 3 and Need for Speed. In turn, we're losing the first SSX in two years, Red Alert, NBA Live 10, American Idol, Star Trek. But hey, Tiger Woods!The press release from EA on Tiger Woods PGA Tour tells us that the game is of the "touch" rather than of the "shake" variety, comes with achievements and offers a way to compare achievements with your friends. Of the key features listed, notably missing is "playing against friends wirelessly," though it does promise the ability to "affect your ball spin direction" using your finger. Those are comparable features, right? We'll keep on EA and let you know as soon as we find out more on their upcoming iPhone/iTouch assault.%Gallery-48706%
DRM denied: No online authentication for Sims 3
Rod Humble, head of all things The Sims has announced that The Sims 3 copy protection will not include any kind of online authentication, but will rely instead on a good ol' fashioned serial code. Considering the unpopularity of EA's recent DRM efforts -- which apparently failed anyway -- the news can only be considered good for consumers. "We feel like this is a good, time-proven solution that makes it easy for you to play the game without DRM methods that feel overly invasive or leave you concerned about authorization server access in the distant future," said Humble on the official Sims 3 website.But Rod, someone has to be concerned about the distant future. Otherwise, we'll be completely unprepared for the robotic DRM enforcement squads.[via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]
Fluent in Simlish? Unemployed writer? EA has a job for you
The Sims 2 website has a job posting seeking experienced freelance writers for "a variety of projects." This variety includes, but is not limited to: game manuals, in-game text and marketing copy. They would also prefer writers that live near the Sims HQ in Redwood Shores, California. Applicants must have a love for the Sims and should email their resume, along with two professional writing samples, to MaxoidDrea[AT]ea[dawt]com.Times are tough, and most of us don't automatically get a selection of jobs by reading a newspaper or checking the computer like those Sims. Best of luck to the applicants.[Via Twitter] [Image]
The Sims 3 adds vampire look, lacks blood sucking ability
We're going to go out on a limb and say the first thing everyone does when playing The Sims is find ways to torture the tiny virtual citizens. Yesterday, Shacknews reported receiving new screen shots of The Sims 3 via email with the subject line: 'The Sims 3 Vampire Screens.' Could it be? Can we start our own vampire war within The Sims? Unfortunately, the answer is no.Electronic Arts told Shacknews that, while characters in The Sims 3 will be able to look like vampires, they will not possess any special abilities. You know, other than the ability to enjoy the writings of Stephenie Meyer. We kid because we love.
The Sims 3 delayed to early June, non-PC versions later
It looks like the February 20 release date for The Sims 3 is definitely not going to happen. EA has announced that the game has been delayed until June 2, so you'll be starting your third virtual life over three months later than anticipated. While the game will also be released on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch and mobiles, the press release only mentions a release date for the PC version.If you expect this to prevent the game from selling scary amounts, you're dreaming. No doubt we'll be hearing a lot more of this game in the run up to June. In the meantime, why not rediscover your love for the series and set a family on fire in The Sims 2. That's the point of the game, right?
Nib frabbit: Sims 3 release date in question [update]
EA is apparently "evaluating the launch window" for The Sims 3, reports Eurogamer. The game was given a February 20 release date last August, but now European retailers are being told by the publisher to expect a delay. EA stated that it would have more information in the near future, presumably tying into EA CEO John Riccitiello's desire to make the third Sims a "huge success." The publisher sure could use the cash.We've contacted EA to find out if it's "evaluating" the release date for North America as well. We'll update if we hear anything.Update: Uh oh. EA responded: "We are evaluating the launch window. The game looks great and in the near future we'll have more information." Our Magic 8 Ball defines this as "outlook not so good."%Gallery-18710%
New Sims 3 trailer shows you how to create a Sim, yet again
Look, there's not a lot we can tell you about this. With something like 100 million copies of the Sims, Sims 2 and their various expansions sold worldwide and you, dear reader, being a person with at least a rudimentary knowledge of gaming, there's a good chance you know both what a Sim is and how they are made. This video isn't going to blow your mind or anything. The graphics look good, it has a pretty groove-tacular soundtrack and your mom will actually contemplate upgrading her PC to play it. Electronic Arts also released three new images, which you can see in the gallery below. %Gallery-18710%Download in HD (10MB)
